Memories of the Soul
by Aratenshi
Summary: The witches suspect that Maka will one day be able to see through their Soul Protect, so they decide to kill her off. However, she escapes, but now her memories are locked up inside her soul. Will she be able to find her friends and unlock the memories in her soul? Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! This is my first fic, so I want constructive criticism (ex. Be more descriptive), but no hating! Also, there will be a slight SoMa, but it'll be more of a friend thing.**

Hundreds of women swathed in black robes were hunched over, their hands clasped together. They chanted in low voices, and their ancient words weaved powerful spells.

A small figure in a dark cloak stuck all over with safety pins and an eye-patch scuttled onto a rock that overlooked the entire cavern. It was Mabaa, the most powerful witch in existence, whose powers could rival Shinigami's. Silence suddenly descended upon the rest of the witches, and their chanting ceased. She began to speak, in a rather squeaky voice:

"Buttataki Joe of Shibusen was the only known person in the world whose Soul Perception could penetrate our Soul Protect, but thanks to an unknown force he was eliminated."

The audience murmured happily among themselves; their greatest threat was now gone, and they were momentarily safe.

"However, that does not mean our troubles are over. We have been informed that there is a new predecessor to Buttataki Joe who has the potential to see through the Soul Protect-"

Roars of outrage suddenly filled the room, and Mabaa could no longer continue over the din that echoed through the cavern. How could such a powerful person spring up in such a short time?!

"SILENCE!" screamed a witch, obviously Mabaa's loyal right-hand partner. A pink-haired witch snickered at the throbbing veins in her neck. Everyone fell silent once more.

Then a beautiful, but severe-looking woman stepped forward. "Excuse me, but just who is this person? And how on earth can we protect ourselves from him?!"

"Don't fret, Kurotori. And I was going to inform you of this meister's identity before you so rudely interrupted," Mabaa said coldly. "As I was saying, this predecessor is Maka Albarn, scythe-meister and daughter of Kami and Spirit Albarn."

**Kim's POV**

My heart skipped a beat. _Maka?!_ I had known her Soul Perception was strong, but I had no idea that she might be able to see through Soul Protect! Blackstar was right: she _is_ a human radar.

But now her ability put her in danger. And if they knew this information, then that meant there was a traitor at Shibusen, although I couldn't imagine who.

I cleared my throat. "Pardon, Mabaa-sama, but how did you come across this information? And how will you deal with this . . . problem?"

Mabaa looked at me. She always gave me the creeps, what with her being all covered up and that eye-patch. "It does not matter how we got the information, Kim. As for how we shall deal with Albarn, it's quite obvious,"

I had the sick feeling that Mabaa was smiling. My stomach was roiling, and I tightened my grip on Jackie's hand.

"We are going to kill Maka Albarn."

Sh-t.

**So, whaddya think? Please review, since this is my first story, and subscribe to see what happens next!**


	2. Kim

**Konnichiwa! This is the author, but y'all can call me Lala****₁****. Please enjoy the story, and review!**

The bell rang for lunch break. A stream of students flowed out of Class Crescent Moon and down the hallway, following the enticing smell of food.

"Ox-kun, do you know where Kim is? She wasn't in classes this morning," Maka inquired. "Did she go to a witches' convention?"

Ox nodded. "They had another meeting last night. So far her cover hasn't been blown, but . . . the witches suspect that there is a traitor. We haven't heard from her yet, but Shinigami-sama said that she should be coming back this afternoon around 3.

"Ox is worried." Harv remarked.

"I AM NOT! MY ANGEL SHALL RETURN!" Ox bellowed.

Maka edged away from the passionate nerd until she reached Soul and Tsubaki at the left side of the hall. "Tsubaki, how did you do on the test?"

"Oh, not as well as you did, I'm afraid," she answered, a sweet smile on her face. "I made a 94, but that's not so bad!"

Maka nodded vigorously. "Well, you tried your best, which is more than I can say for a _certain idiot._" Her eyes zeroed in on Soul.

His normally placid face transformed into a scowl. "I didn't cheat; I just wrote notes on my arm!"

"Which is cheating; you're not allowed to have notes!"

They entered the crowded cafeteria and dumped their stuff on the nearest table to reserve their seats, and then went through the lunch line. Just as Maka dug into her bento, Blackstar began to recite a detailed description of what his poop looked like after eating a dragonfruit that was dyed turquoise blue. Suddenly, it seemed that nobody was very enthusiastic about lunch.

"It smelled kinda funky, but also fruity, ya know? And you could see the seeds and stuff, and it was blue, sorta like my hair, only with these pinkish stripes. HAHAHA! Only a god like me could make such cool crap! Hey, are you guys sick? You're kinda green. Oh, did I mention that my poop was green, too? HAHAHA! Maybe I should write a report about this and get extra credit. Then Professor Stein will have to admit that I'm amazing! YAHO-"

"MAKA-CHOP!"

Blackstar lay crumpled on the cafeteria table with a textbook lodged in his head. Kidd, who seemed to be slightly awestruck, poked his prone body carefully. "He landed symmetrically," he remarked, looking satisfied.

Ox suddenly shot out of his seat and down toward the cafeteria's entrance. "MY LOVE HAS COME BACK!"

Standing in the doorway was Kim and Jackie, happy to be home.

**Kim's POV**

I skipped past Ox (who face-planted on the floor) and ran towards my friends. For some reason Blackstar was unconscious, but I didn't really care.

"Tsubaki! Maka! I'm so glad to see you!"

I really was glad to see them. If I could see Maka, it meant she was alive, and that the witches hadn't harmed her. Yet.

Maka and Tsubaki hugged Jackie and I. "It's wonderful that you're back," Tsubaki chirped. That girl has a heart of gold, unlike her dumb $$ partner.

Jackie and I sat down and ate lunch ravenously. We had skipped dinner and breakfast because of the witch convention, and I thought my stomach was going to cave in!

However, our break was too short, because then the bell rang for classes to resume again. I waved goodbye to my friends and watched them rush back to class. Then I turned to Jackie.

"Ready to report to Shinigami-sama?" she asked grimly.

I sighed. "Yeah. Let's go."

We turned and headed down the long hallway marked with _torii_* to the Death Room.

When I entered the Death Room I saw Shinigami-sama drinking tea with Sid. I wasn't really that creeped out; when you've been in Shibusen as long as I have, you get used to all the weirdoes.

Jackie bowed politely. "Um, Shinigami-sama, we're back from the witches' convention. Would you like our report now?"

He stood and faced us. "Hey hey hey! How are you doing?! Thanks a lot, kiddos! You've been a big help!" _What a goofball,_ I thought.

I saw Jackie blush with pleasure at the compliments. "So," I butted in, "I'll get straight to the point.

I told him about how the witches had suspicions about a "traitor," and that I thought there might be a traitor at Shibusen who was selling us out to the witches. He seemed to grimace at that, although I couldn't really tell because of his mask. Then I mentioned that they were planning to harm Maka.

"What should we do?" I asked. If anyone had an answer, it had to be Shinigami-sama.

He stayed silent, thinking for a moment. The seconds crawled by as we awaited his solution anxiously.

" . . . I have no idea!"

More silence.

Sid was the first one to break the quiet. "You're kidding, right? We can't do absolutely nothing when the witches are planning to assassinate Maka! That's not the kind of man I was."

Shiningami-sama nodded thoughtfully. "Okie-dokie then, we'll prohibit her from going on missions alone and put her in special training to increase her Soul Perception power. But other than that, I doubt there's much we can do if we don't know what the witches are planning to do. We'll have to be on our guard."

I sighed inwardly. This meant more spying.

₁ **Lala is my nickname. I know it's silly. ;)**

**Torii are the Shinto gate/post thingy. Just Google it. XP**

**I think I'll post Ch. 3 in a week or so, but I can't make any promises. It'll definitely have more action, though! :) Please review, and subscribe to see what happens next!**


	3. Surrounded on All Sides

**Ni hao! Welcome to Ch. 3! I literally have NO idea when I can post Ch. 4, so . . . yeah. Okie-dokie then, let the story begin!**

Two weeks and three days passed after Kim returned without any trouble or attacks. Kids went out on missions and returned safe and sound. They still hadn't found the traitor, but everything seemed normal and nothing out of the ordinary happened. Kim began to relax and had a little hope that the witches would not try to harm Shibusen.

However, peace never lasts long for Spartoi.

**Maka's POV**

For some reason, I woke up with an uneasy feeling this morning. My Soul Perception felt funny; there was this weird tingle, but whenever I tried to grasp at it, it just blurred. I ignored it, though, because I had more important things to worry about.

Soul and I made it into class just a few minutes before the bell rang. After several hours of dissecting live frogs and then sewing them back up (it was hard to tell who was more traumatized: the frogs or the students?) class ended. It was an early dismissal today since tomorrow was Tanabata₁, so we had the whole afternoon to study! Of course, Blackstar and Soul decided that it was better to play basketball.

"Maka, your god commands you to come play basketball!" Blackstar yelled.

I promptly closed by book and got up to leave.

"How dare you disobey your master? Where are you going?"

I whirled around, absolutely furious.

"You said I didn't have to play basketball as long as I came outside!" I snarled.

"Oh, I-"

"If you say you lied I swear I'll kill you."

"Um, you can go inside now, Maka."

When I reached the library I flopped down onto a beanbag. Ah, it was so cool and cozy in here. However, the thing on my Soul Perception was still bothering me. It had grown stronger, but I still couldn't quite grasp it yet. I decided to wait.

Ten minutes later the feeling had definitely become stronger. I made an attempt to discern where it was coming from, and this time I did not give up. It was a huge mental strain; my head began to ache. However, I now knew that it was heading in our direction, from the west.

Whatever this was, it was definitely powerful. Wait- this wavelength consisted of lots of powerful souls! Now my headache was killing me, but I couldn't give up. Not when I was so close to discovering whom these souls belonged to.

These souls were insanely powerful, but the barrier around them was so strong it gave you a killer migraine just by looking at them, and barely showed up on my Soul Perception. It was almost as if the souls were trying to protect themselves . . .

My eyes snapped open. These souls weren't human or Kishin. I had broken through the _witches' Soul Protect!_

I felt their souls arrange themselves in a circle around Death City as I flew down the steps to reach Soul and the others, and nearly tripped when they turned the Soul Protect off. This could mean only one thing: the witches were waging war on Shibusen.

The witches had Shibusen surrounded on all sides by land and air. Mabaa placed a magic barrier around them as well so it would be impossible to escape for at least a few hours. They had come for one person, and they wouldn't let her escape. Now was the time to send Shibusen the message.

**Soul's POV**

Blackstar and I had just been heading inside Shibusen with Kidd when the witches arrived.

"DID YOU SEE ME, SOUL?! ONLY A GOD COULD HAVE MADE A SHOT LIKE THAT!" Blackstar bragged. His shouting was starting to get on my nerves.

"Yes, an only you could have made a grade like that on your test," I drawled sarcastically.

"Well, at least 11 is symmetrical," Kidd said.

As we walked down the hallway Kidd suddenly gasped and stumbled.

"Hey, are you ok?" Blackstar asked.

Kidd didn't respond. His golden eyes were bulging, and his breaths were short and fast. He almost looked . . . terrified.

"Oy, KIDD! What's the matter?!" I yelled, starting to get worried.

He finally answered after taking a few breaths. "We're surrounded by witches. Hundreds of them. Mabaa is here."

"WHAT?!" we both exclaimed.

I had to find Maka. Without saying another word, I sprinted up the stairs towards the library. Then I collided into something.

₁ Tanabata is a Japanese festival held on July 7th.

**Yippee! Another chapter done! What will happen to Shibusen? Who are the witches after? What did Soul crash into? Read the next chapter to find out! And review, too. Your opinion is very much welcome!**


	4. A Noble Sacrifice

**Hola! Welcome to Ch. 4! I'm sorry I haven't uploaded in a while, but I've been really busy since report cards just came out. Please enjoy! :D**

**Maka's POV**

Ugh. I glared at the person I had smashed into while I was running down the steps.

"Soul! Where were you?! And watch where you're going!" I barked. Now my head felt 5 times worse, and I couldn't even stand up without falling back down.

"Why's it my fault? You were running too!"

I groaned, still doubled-up on the stone stairs. "Where are Kidd and the others? Were you attacked?! Did you see the witches?!" My voice turned into a screech.

Soul winced. "Shut up! Kidd and Blackstar are inside Shibusen somewhere, and Tsubaki and the girls are studying at Tsubaki's place. Kidd sensed the witches just now; that's why I came looking for you." Then he noticed I was in pain.

"Hey . . . are you alright? The witches didn't hurt you, did they?!"

I shook my head, which sent more bolts of pain through my brain. "I . . . It hurts because I br-broke through their Soul Protect."

His crimson eyes stared at mine, shock scrawled all over his face. "You . . . did what?" His mouth was hanging open.

"W-well," I sputtered. "I didn't really mean to. Well, I mean, I kinda did, but I didn't know they were witches at first. I-it just kinda happened, you know?"

Soul shook his head. "You are so cool!" His face broke into a huge toothy grin. "Anyways, we have to get moving. Those witches aren't gonna wait for us to kill them!"

I smiled. "Let's give them hell!"

**Kim's POV**

Damn it. The witches were here. They either wanted to kill Maka, me, or both of us, and none of the outcomes were very appealing.

"Kim," Jackie began, "if the witches see you here . . . "

I nodded grimly. "I'm dead. I know."

She stared at the ground glumly. We were sitting in Class Crescent Moon, waiting for orders from Shinigami-sama to tell us what to do next. I wondered how Maka was doing.

The Death Scythes were holding a meeting in the Death Room to decide what to do about the witches surrounding Shibusen. While they argued, Shinigami-sama sat at the head of the table, nodding and "Mm-hmm," –ing. Then Death Scythe walked in, with Risa and Arisa walking beside him.

"Spirit! Is now really the time to be out drinking and having fun?!" Azusa snapped, her glasses flashing with light.

"OY! What makes you assume that I was drinking?!" he shrieked, jabbing a finger in her direction. "I only went to Chupacabra's today to arrest them!"

Azusa suddenly stopped glaring. "What? Arrest them? I know they're disgusting, low-life-" She stopped in mid-sentence when Arisa narrowed her eyes at her. "What I mean to say is, what did they do?"

Shinigami-sama cleared his throat. "Excuse me everyone, but we have discovered that Arisa and Risa are the traitors. They are witches, and have been relaying information to Mabaa about our plans and expectations,"

His eyes were slanted down, obviously in disapproval. "Spirit, I must say I am . . . disappointed in you. If I had suspected that you had such loose lips I might not have given you access to such vital information."

Spirit said nothing. His head was lowered at the ground, and his flaming red hair covered his eyes.

Marie sighed. "Well, the damage has been done. We'll just have to torture information out of those two and try to get rid of the witches."

Risa and Arisa's eyes widened. "W-what?!" Risa sputtered. "You're going to torture us?! But, like, 3/4s of the information Deatscythe gave us was absolutely useless!"

Marie whirled around to face them. "And what about the rest of the information? You knew that today we would be relaxed and happy, and that our guard was down. You live in our city and know Shinigami-sama's hospitality. You know that he loves this city, and that everyone in Shibusen would lay down their lives to preserve this city! Yet you _still_ betrayed us!" Her voice rose to a scream. "Do you really think we would let scum like you _live_?!" Her arm suddenly transformed into a hammer, and she raised it, about to bring it down on their terrified heads.

Then Stein grabbed her shoulder. "Now, Marie," he scolded, "Don't kill them just yet. If Shinigami-sama is willing, I would appreciate it if he let me . . . invite them to my lab. You can help, me, ok?" he murmured soothingly.

Marie nodded, her arm shaking. Angry, unshed tears glistened in her eyes. "It's just that, they could have brought about Shibusen's demise."

"We won't let them." Stein's voice was steel.

Arisa spoke up. "The reason we let Spirit arrest us was because we have a message for you, a deal."

"Oh?" Shinigami-sama looked interested.

"The deal is . . . " Risa paused, glancing nervously at Spirit. "The witches will leave . . . if you give them Maka Albarn."

**Maka's POV**

My blood froze. Soul and I had decided to split up so that we could find the rest of Spartoi, and I had headed up to the Death Room to see if Kidd-kun, Liz, and Patty were there. Instead, I had discovered that the witches wanted me dead, and had basically all of Death City for ransom.

I tore down the steps, and caught up with Soul.

"Hey, I thought you were going to look for Kidd." Soul growled. One of his eyebrows was raised in puzzlement. His burning red eyes were full of curiosity and worry. How could I tell him that I had to choose between my probable death and Shibusen's possible demise?

"Um . . . I think we should look outside! For Blackstar and Tsubaki, I mean."

He stared at me in disbelief. "Did you knock your head of something? There are _hordes of witches_ outside! We'll die!"

I stayed quiet, thinking. "But . . . if someone's out there, then we could help them. After all, there were a lot of people outside today; they could be in trouble."

Soul shook his head. "That's suicidal, Maka. It's impossible for a 3 star meister like you to beat a whole horde of witches! Stay here until Shinigami-sama or Professor Stein gives us orders."

That's when I got angry. "Are you saying we should leave them to die; that we shouldn't protect Death City?!"

His jaw dropped. "Where did you get that crap from? Of course I want to fight the witches! But just running out there is beyond stupid! Heck, it's even beyond _your_ level of stupidity!"

"Well then, screw you! I don't care what you think. I'll just stop them by myself!" I then proceeded to punch out the glass of the nearest window, and then jumped out. I was lucky that we were only two stories up, and that there was a tree beneath me.

Without even waiting to hear what Soul had to say, I began running. I had to lie and deceive him in order to do this; if I had told Soul the real reason I was going outside, he would have stopped me, even if it meant punching my lights out. After all, I was about to hand myself over to the witches.

I was met with no obstacles or anything to hinder my trip to Death City's borders. The streets were completely empty. After a few minutes of jogging through the desert, I saw a huge black bird descend from the sky. It landed in front of me, and then unfolded its glossy black wings to reveal a witch.

She smiled icily at me. "A good choice to make, Maka Albarn. How noble of you, to sacrifice yourself in order to protect your loved ones; I'm sure they'll appreciate it." She sneered, her pale face and beady black eyes full of malice. "My name of Kurotori, and Mabaa sent me to pick you up. Don't worry, you won't die immediately. Mabaa said I could play with you first."

I was scared. My veins seemed to literally have terror flowing through them, and I wasn't sure whether my heart had stopped or was pounding faster than a race car. Somehow, I still managed to say some smart stuff.

"Are we going to go or not? Because I got the impression I was going to die young, not hear you talk 'til I turned all wrinkly."

Kurotori's eyes narrowed. "As you wish," she spat mockingly. "Let's go."

**I know this was super-long. I just felt that my last few chapters were too short, and I feel a little guilty about not updating often. I'll try to update once a week, kay? **** Please review and subscribe!**


	5. Get Out Alive

**Bonjour! It is me, Lala (a.k.a. Aratenshi)! Please read, review, and enjoy! Thank you to **_**Sakura1221**_** and **_**SymmetricalGirl8DeathTheKid**_** who reviewed!**

** Disclaimer: I DO own Soul Eater, and am also Santa Claus in disguise. Joking, I don't own Soul Eater at all. **

**Soul's POV**

I watched, shell-shocked, as Maka plunged out the window and into the tree below. I tried to call out to her as she started to sprint down to Death City, but she either didn't hear me, or completely ignored me. I had a feeling it was the latter.

What the hell was she doing? There was no freaking possible way for her to fight a witch without a weapon and live, much less all of them. I turned and sprinted down the steps, desperately trying to catch up to Maka. However, by the time I had slammed my shoulder into the double-doors and crashed outside, she was gone. I let out a groan, and then began running (again) back up the steps, this time in search of Blackstar.

**Death the Kidd's POV**

I heard from Father that the witches were demanding that we give them Maka, or else they would destroy Death City. Obviously, we couldn't just hand Maka over to them; Death Scythe would kill us! However, we couldn't afford to fight them either; it would mean certain death.

As I pondered over this dilemma, Soul barged his way into my room. His eyes were alight with fear, his chest was heaving, and his hair was tussled and wind swept.

"Maka," he gasped. "She-she left. (gasp) The witches-(gasp)-she went to fight them-(gasp)-by herself!" After finishing, he collapsed.

I bolted to my feet. "WHAT?! Does she have a death wish?!" I whipped around to where Liz and Patty stood, their mouths in little surprised O's. "Liz! Patty! Let's go!"

In a pink flash, they were in my hands. "I'll go after Maka; you stay here and gather the rest of Spartoi. We're going to have to fight the witches now, whether we're prepared or not."

Soul opened his toothy mouth to argue, but I didn't let him utter a sound. "Look: you can't fight the witches, even as a Death Scythe. On the other hand, I being a Shinigami will stand a chance, especially with Maka on my side." I narrowed my eyes. "This is an order from the future Shinigami-sama."

After a few moments, Soul nodded. "Alright. Don't die on us, Kidd."

**Maka's POV**

My eyes fluttered open. I remember that I had been flying on a giant blackbird, next to the witch Kurotori. Then, at some point I must have fallen asleep. Now, I glanced around at my surroundings. What I saw was a show of just how powerful the witches were.

I was chained to a giant wooden post. It appeared that I was in a separate dimension, and was floating in a pitch-black space. There was no up or down, and there was no floor or ceiling. Huge, swirling lights were sprinkled around, illuminating the darkness; I assumed they were portals of some sort that lead to the outside world. Some of them would flicker with images: a waterfall in one, a pine forest, a barren ice land, and many others.

"Enjoying yourself, fledgling?" hissed an oily voice.

I whipped my head around to see Kurotori. "Yes, I'm having the time of my life." I said sarcastically.

"That's good," she purred. "You won't have long to live anyways."

"Where am I?" I demanded. "What do you want? Where is Soul? What did you do to Shibusen?!" I suddenly realized that I was terrified, for both me and my friends.

She scoffed. "Oh, do quit your whining. We're in a separate dimension, where the witches' headquarters are. And your damned Death City is fine; witches keep their word."

I let out a breath of relief. They were OK; Soul and Kidd and the others weren't hurt. Kurotori noticed my relief.

She suddenly grinned. "Now, don't get too comfortable, fledgling. I never said that you wouldn't get hurt."

It felt like an icy fist clenched my heart.

"Try not to scream, fledgling. " A large three-eyed crow perched on her arm, staring hungrily at me. "This will only hurt a lot."

I gulped. "Do your worst!" I chirped cheerfully. Kurotori's smile was spookily similar to Professor Stein's.

I don't know how much time passed. My head spun; it hurt to breathe, to keep my eyes open. All I knew was that I wanted it to end, even if it meant dying. What's worse is that Kurotori was obviously enjoying herself. My ribs hurt and felt wet. Was it blood? I was too exhausted to care.

A couple minutes passed. Nothing happened. I cautiously cracked open an eye. No one was there. It seemed that Kurotori and her pack of butt-ugly chickens had left. I noticed that one of the chains that attached my right arm to the post was broken; Kurotori had probably accidently broken it when she was torturing me.

Mustering up all the will-power and strength I had left in me, I picked up a jagged piece of metal and used it to break my other chains. After an agonizing 5 minutes, I had free myself. At first, I was full of elation. Then I saw a portal suddenly appear out of the corner of my left eye, and my stomach plummeted.

"Yes, Mabaa-sama, the prisoner is here. I chained her to a wooden post. No, I don't think she's in too bad shape. I gave her a cracked rib or two, that's all."

Kurotori's gaze travelled to the post. Then her jaw dropped.

"EH?! Where's that wench?! Where the hell did she go?! HOW DID SHE ESCAPE?!

I must admit, I thought the sight of Kurotori yanking at her greasy black hair was hilarious. However, I was in far too much pain to laugh. I peered at her from behind a purple portal, my heart pounding. At that moment, the portal inconveniently disappeared. I stumbled and fell on my knees, letting out a little squeak.

Both witches whirled to face the source of the noise: me. I stared back at them, my mouth agape. "Um, lovely weather today, right?" Half a millisecond later, I bolted.

"AAAHHHH!" I screamed, dashing in between portals. Now, you're probably wondering why I didn't just get my ass into one of the hundreds of portals around me and magic myself off into a nice, safe place far away from killer witches. The reason is because the majority of the portals lead to places that were just as dangerous, such as volcanoes, deserts, muck swamps, and the bottom of ocean floors. You might fancy hanging out with a crocodile or shark, but I for one don't.

Kurotori sped towards me, quickly closing the gap between us. Mabaa, on the other hand, stood still, muttering to herself. Every now and then she would blink. I wondered what she was doing. Then it hit me: she was destroying all the safe portals so I couldn't escape.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spied a yellow portal. It showed a paddy field in a thunder storm. To you, it might have looked terrifying: forks of white-blue lightning slammed into the ground, and sheets of rain fell like bullets. But to me, it looked like heaven on earth.

I thrust myself into it, a smile on my face. However, Mabaa wasn't about to let me go that easily. As the other half of my body slipped into the shrinking portal, she sent a silver bolt of magic at me, hitting me square in the chest. It forced the rest of my body into the portal, completing my escape. On the downside, I felt my eyelids grow heavy, and blacked out. _At least I got out alive,_ I thought.

**Bwahahahaha! A cliffhanger! Where did Maka go? What exactly did Mabaa do to her? I know Maka's been playing a huge role so far, but don't worry, there will be other characters! Read the next chapter and subscribe to find out! Also, I would be delighted if you could review. Arigato!**


	6. Amnesia

**Annyeonghaseyo! Welcome to the next chapter! Thank you to all the wonderful readers who reviewed, and please enjoy the story! :D**

** Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater, and never will, so get off my case, copyright.**

**Kim's POV**

We (meaning Spartoi) wandered around Death City. There were no witches at all, not even a trace that they had even been here. There was also no sign of Maka. In fact, if we hadn't known any better, we would have thought today was normal, except for the fact that all of Death City's residents were hiding in their houses.

"Clear!" I hollered, to tell my friends that this street was empty as well. I heard Blackstar, Kidd, Ox, Kirikou*, and Soul give the same response.

I tightened my grip on Jackie's handle. Guilt tore at my mind and soul like an awful monster. It was my fault that this had happened; if I had given myself up to the witches instead of Maka, then she might be safe . . .

"Kim." Jackie spoke to me, knowing exactly what I was thinking. "This isn't your fault, and you know it. The witches would have just killed you, and Maka would have still been kidnapped."

"But-"

"NO BUTS. Instead of moping around, honor Maka's sacrifice and destroy the witches. Avenge her and we'll all go find her, together. Okay?"

I nodded, choking back a sob. Then I heard Soul let out a startled noise.

"Soul?! Are you ok?! SOUL!"

**Soul's POV**

A strangled noise escaped from my lip, half sob and half yell, as I stared at the ground in disbelief. The awful truth seemed glare back at me from the trampled, green grass.

A hand suddenly clamped onto my shoulder, making me jump, and an annoying voice blared into my ear.

"Hey, Soul! What happened?! Are ya scared? Did ya piss your pants or something? Have no fear, your god is here! BWAHAHAHA!"

Kidd ran towards us. "Soul; what happened?! Are you ok?" Kim and the others jogged behind him, with equally concerned looks on their faces.

I took a deep breath and pointed towards the ground. A glossy black feather, hair band, and Spartoi badge lay on the slightly squashed grass. Maka had been wearing a hair band that morning, and she must have dropped her badge on purpose as a message to us: _I left on my own accord. Don't worry about me._

Gasps arose from around me. Kidd grimaced.

"I'll go make a report to Father."

That reminded me: what the hell was I supposed to tell Spirit?

**Akihiko's POV**

I groaned miserably, hanging onto a tree for dear life as the wind and rain tried to throw me off my feet. Why on earth had I agreed to help Kazumi look for her precious sickle in the middle of a thunder storm? Lightning arced across the sky and icy water swirled around our ankles; the bitterly cold wind bit into our thin kimonos and howled ominously.

My name is Akihiko, I'm a Demon naginata, and I live on a remote island in Japan called Arashi Island. Many centuries ago a spider woman came to Japan and gave our ancestors the ability turn into weapons. However, because they were "freaks," they were shunned, and so they came to this island to live in isolation. Now many of the villagers are Demon weapons, but we still live alone.

I forced my eyelids open and squinted into the darkness. Did I mention that it was also the middle of the night? I could barely see five feet in front of me, but being the village idiot, I decided to continue with my pea-brained mission.

"Kazumi, stay here, ok? I'll go get your sickle by myself. If you see an Evil Soul, run back inside; I'll fight it off by myself." Then I began to trudge off into the night, fighting the wind and rain.

When I miraculously made it into the rice field, I collapsed onto the muddy ground to rest, exhausted. Just as I closed my eyes, a rustling sound came from behind me. My eyes snapped open.

I swung my head around, trying to locate the source of the noise. Was it an Evil Soul? My heart pounded, my blood ran cold with fear. The rustling noises got louder, it was coming towards my direction, the bushes were moving, it was _right in front of me_-

"AAAHHH!" we both screamed. I nearly cried with relief; it was just stupid Kazumi. She was still screaming, so whacked her head.

"I thought I told you to stay at the tree!" I snarled.

She sniffled pathetically. "But if an Evil Soul attacked you, who would be your Technician? Papa says a good Demon weapon always fights with its Technician, no matter what. 'Live together, fight together, die together.' " she said, quoting the ancient saying that had been passed down for over 800 years.

I huffed. "Since when were you my Technician? Our wavelengths don't even match! Now move it, we have to find your sickle quick-like, or else Mom will skin us alive . . . if Rin doesn't first." Rin was the Evil Soul that had been terrorizing our village lately, eating villagers' souls indiscriminately.

At first Rin was such a kind (and sort of cute) girl. Her name was originally Yasuko, but after her parents died in a lightning storm, she _and_ her name changed. She became mean and resentful, and hated everything and everybody. Being a Demon katana, she could eat souls, so she began murdering people and consuming their souls out of spite. Eventually she had turned into an Evil Soul, and now we live in fear of her.

Kazumi and I arrived at the clearing where she had lost her sickle. She squealed with joy when she spotted it, and then grabbed it and stuffed it into her pocket.

I sighed. "Great, now let's go." She nodded, and then threw her arms around me.

"You're the best big brother ever! I love you!" she chirped, giggling.

Yuck. Why do girls have to be so touchy-feely?

That was when _it_ happened. The wind suddenly stopped blowing, the lightning ceased, and the rain disappeared. The night was eerily quiet.

"Um . . . Akihiko, what happened?" Kazumi whispered.

I forced myself to answer, even though my mouth had gone dry. "I've got no freaking idea." I'm really eloquent, aren't I?

Then the sky seemed to tear open, and a swirling yellow mass erupted into existance. Something dropped out of the yellow hole, and plummeted towards the ground. Actually, it plummeted towards _us_.

FWOOM! The thing landed on top us, making it rather hard to breathe. Comfy. When I shoved the thing off, I realized it was the body of a girl.

"AH!" Great, now I was screaming again.

Kazumi got up and crawled towards the girl. She tugged gently on her long ash-blonde hair, and stared at her with a quizzical, slightly worried look on her face. I don't really blame her; the girl was rather queer. She wore a plain T-shirt, Nike shorts, and was covered in dried blood and bruises. Kazumi grabbed her wrist, checking for a pulse.

I cleared my throat. "Is she alive? What does her soul look like?" Kazumi's Soul Perception was quite impressive for a girl her age (but don't tell her I said that).

Kazumi shut her eyes, her forehead creased in concentration. She suddenly gasped, and staggered backwards, surprise scrawled all over her face.

"Kazumi! What's the matter?!"

She ogled the girl. "Her soul is so strong! It's unlike anything I've ever seen before!"

I narrowed my eyes. "You mean she's not human? Should we kill her?"

Kazumi shook her head frantically. "No! Why is your solution to always destroy stuff?! Nah, she's definitely human. Her soul is just really strong. Like, it's _big_, and pure. Other than that, it's normal. Although . . . "

"What?"

She pursed her lips, as if thinking hard. "Something's wrong with her soul. I keep trying to look deeper, but something's blocking me. It's like there's a wall that's preventing me from seeing anything _in_ her soul. I can tell she's a human, and I can almost grasp her wavelength, but that's about it. I can't even detect her emotions."

I shrugged. "Oh well. Maybe you're just tired. We'll ask Papa when we get home."

Kazumi frowned. "Yeah . . . I guess so."

**Maka's POV**

The world was cloaked in black warmth. I shifted ever so slightly, my eyes still sealed shut with sleep. A warm, sun-kissed breeze blew in, ruffling my hair and tearing me from the last few tendrils of unconsciousness. I pried my eyes open, and then let out a jaw-splitting yawn.

My eyes swept across the room, analyzing my surroundings. The floor was made of a light, brown wood, while the walls were made of spring green bamboo, creating a calming effect. The warm breeze that had woken me up blew on baby-blue curtains, making them flutter and dance. Furniture was sparse: a wooden table in the corner, a wooden stool, a mirror hanging on the left wall, and the white bedroll I was lying on. I stood up and walked to the mirror to gaze at my reflection, and then two thoughts hit me.

1: I don't recognize my face, and 2: I don't know what my name is.

*: **Kirikou's name is Kilik in the English dub. His Weapons partners are Pot of Fire and Pot of Thunder.**

**Ah! Mabaa gave Maka amnesia! How will Shibusen find Maka? What will Kazumi and Akihiko do to Maka? How will Spirit react to the news? And will I pass my midterm algebra exam? Read on and subscribe to find out! (Joking, we all know that I won't pass D:)**


	7. Masuyo

**Chào! I noticed that my chapters have been getting longer and longer; is that good or bad? Anyways, I would like to say thank you to everyone who reviewed (sorry, I'm too lazy to make a list XP), followed, and favorite. Please review and subscribe if you haven't, but most importantly, enjoy the story! **

**Akihiko's POV**

I paused in front of Kazumi's room, which is where the mysterious girl was sleeping. The memories of two days ago were still fresh in my mind. After we brought the girl home and Mother yelled at us for sneaking out, Papa had examined her.

**~Flashback~**

"Well," Papa sighed, "She has lacerations, bruises, and large cuts all over, but they should heal in a week or two. It's almost like someone delib her." Papa was the village doctor, but he was also an amazing Technician, able to resonate with not one, but _three_ weapons! Well, now it was two, since Yasuko/Rin's father was dead, but he was still a prodigy.

Mother frowned. "Why on earth would anyone want to harm a little girl? I swear, if I find out who did this, they're going to wish they had never been born!"

"I don't doubt it," I muttered. Mother sure had a way with the wok.

Papa tried to keep a straight face. "Anyways, Kazumi was right: the girl has a tremendously powerful soul; at least for someone her age she does. I believe she has a purifying wavelength-"

Kazumi interrupted. "What's that?"

He scowled. "Don't interrupt others when they're speaking, Kazzy-kins; that's rude. A purifying wavelength is a special type of soul wavelength that can repel madness. It's very uncommon, and very powerful. In fact, the last person on Arashi Island to have a purifying wavelength died over 75 years ago, and lead us into an era of peace . . . for a little while, anyways."

"As I was saying, she has a purifying wavelength, and I believe she's capable of raising her resonance rate to extremely high levels; maybe higher than mine, even. I suspect that she either is incredibly powerful, or had formal training to achieve such a strong soul. It could be both."

We were all silent for a while. I had never heard of anyone training to make their soul stronger; the villagers of Arashi Island only learned to fight for self-defense against Evil Souls.

Then Kazumi spoke up. "Um, did you look at her soul? I couldn't go beyond sensing her wavelength."

Papa shook his head sadly. "Sorry, munchkin; Papa couldn't either. It's almost as if someone has . . . put a lock on her soul. We can't see much other than her wavelength, faint emotions, and her personality. That's about it. Honestly, this is an absurdly strange situation."

**~Flashback Ends~**

I suddenly shook my head fiercely to clear my thoughts. I opened the door to check on the girl, and to my shock, she was wide awake.

We stared at each other for a minute. A look of surprise registered on her face. I noticed that her eyes were a brilliant green, and she appeared to be Eurasian. She was standing in front of the mirror.

"Uh . . . good morning," I said. "You were unconscious."

Then I realized how stupid that sounded. Of course she had been unconscious! She had been sleeping, genius!

"Um, well, I mean, you were when we found you. That is, you fell out of the sky, although that might sound stupid, unless that's your normal mode of transportation, but that's not ours, so I find it weird, no offense to you, though. Oh, and those cuts and stuff were already there when you fell. Out of the-"

She cut me off before I could run my mouth anymore. "What the hell are you talking about?"

That was when my mom came in. "Akihiko, what's taking you so- oh! Why, you're awake! That's wonderful; are you hungry?"

She paused and then gave a small nod.

Kazumi strolled in. As usual, nothing seemed to faze her. "What's your name? I'm Kazumi, and that guy is Akihiko. He's my brother."

The girl coughed nervously. "Ah . . . the thing is, I don't remember."

**Maka's POV**

The family took the fact that I had no memories well enough. During breakfast they poked and prodded me for information, until it was clear to all of us that I really did have no personal memories. Notice that I said "personal."

I did have _some_ memories, if you could call them that. For some reason, I couldn't remember any friends, family, relationships, events, etc., but could remember all my "soul studies," and remembered how to wield a variety of weapons. I could probably kick the crap out of a grown man, was able to perceive souls on the other side of the island (I sensed some Evil Souls, but didn't mention it), but didn't even know where I came from.

"Well, I'd say you're pretty lucky to stumble across our little island," Akihiko's mother chirped. "Almost everyone here is either a Weapon or Technician, and you could teach us all how to fight! It would be just delightful if you could teach us what you know; that way we would be able to better defend ourselves against Evil Souls."

I thought about it for a moment. They were very nice, and I didn't see any harm in it. Besides, I might remember something while I taught them. "Very well; I'll teach you guys!"

The lady smiled. "That's splendid . . . hmm," she trailed off. "Oh my, I suppose you don't remember your name, do you? Well, then, what do you want to be called?"

I shrugged nonchalantly, but I had actually been worrying about that for a while. How could I have no name?!

Suddenly the girl, Kazumi blurted out, "How about Masuyo?!" Everyone stared at her. "Well, she's a benefit to our village by teaching us, and Masuyo means "benefit the world." In a way, she's benefiting our world."

I took a good, long look at her. She was quite cute in a teddy bear sort of way; her brown eyes were sparking with light, her unruly black hair had a little white ribbon on the side, and her little hands were curled into fists.

Her mother smiled. "I think that's a wonderful name. What do you think?" she inquired, glancing at me.

I paused. Then a huge smile broke onto my face. "I love it. Thank you!"

Akihiko stood up. "Well Masuyo, let's go do the chores now! They won't finish by themselves!"

Soul's POV

After Spirit found out that the witches had Maka, he completely lost it. According to Professor Stein, he hasn't left his room for two days. I'm pretty lucky that I'm still breathing right now.

Kim left to look for Maka at the witches' headquarters, but we haven't heard from her yet. Shinigami-sama told the rest of Spartoi to wait here for a while, and then we can search for Maka. He must either be delusional, or getting too old for his job; probably both.

I wasn't going to wait for orders; I'm gonna haul ass and find my Meister if it kills me! I was in my bedroom packing my backpack with clothes and granola bars when Kidd and Blackstar invited themselves in.

The door swung open and Blackstar charged in. "Oi, Soul! What are ya doing? Are you going somewhere? Take me with you! I'll hide in your suitcase if you want me to; I can just hold my breath!"

"I'm going to look for Maka." I snapped grimly. "You guys can either follow me or not. Either way, I don't care."

Kidd obviously disapproved. "Soul, Father said that we must stay here in case the witches return. If all of Spartoi is on the other side of the globe, Shibusen's defenses will be . I know you're her partner, but you can't recklessly just run off to look for her without informing anyone, especially if it goes against Shibusen's orders. Anyways, Kim is looking for Maka, so-"

_"That's not enough!"_ I thundered. "She could be dying, or worse, and I'm just sitting in school learning how to dissect an endangered species! You might be a panty-wearing, goody two-shoes, but I'm NOT. So you shut your mouth, _Shinigami_! You might be a Death god, but you're practically immortal; what would you know about dying?!"

Blackstar's eyes visibly widened in shock, and Kidd's mouth turned into a thin line. Kidd and I usually never fought, and when we did, it was about stupid stuff, like whether music could be symmetrical. And we _never_ brought up his near immortality; it was his constant sorrow that his best friends would most likely pass on without him, leaving him alone in the end. Even Liz and Patty would probably die long before him. An awkward silence stretched out, seeming to create an invisible chasm between us.

I turned and walked through the door. "Sorry I lost my cool. But I'm leaving, and you can't stop me."

"Wait, you idiot!" I turned back around to face Blackstar and Kidd.

Blackstar crossed the room in two quick strides. "You could at least wait for me. Tsubaki and I need to cancel our mission first if we're gonna leave to look for Maka with you!"

Kidd sighed. "I suppose there really is no stopping someone as bull-headed as you."

I grinned, showing all my shark teeth. "Funny, my mom said the same thing."

"I guess we're all going, huh?" All three of us whirled around and saw Liz, Patty, and Tsubaki. "I was wondering when the boys would finally decide to leave." Liz said, tossing her hair.

"I suppose we'll have to leave Ox and Kirikou and their weapons behind in case of witches," Kidd griped. "That's too bad."

"Oh well," I said. "They'll just have to live with it. Let's go, guys!"

They nodded, smiling. _"We'll find Maka!"_

**So . . . do you likey? I know the ending was a little cheesy, but I wanted to end on a hopeful note, and depict them as a great team, despite their differences. Please review and follow!**


	8. Weapon and Technician

**I'm sorry that I haven't updated in a while, but I've been very busy with schoolwork. On, the bright side, Thanksgiving break is here, so I'm gonna write like crazy! XD Thank you so much to the wonderful readers who reviewed; I'll try to start listing y'all's names in the next chapters. Please read and enjoy. **

** Disclaimer: I don't really see the point in this, but I don't own Soul Eater.**

"**Masuyo's" POV**

I gulped nervously, staring at Kazumi and Akihiko. We were standing in the middle of the rice paddy they had found me in a week ago, and my new friends were crouching on the ground. Akihiko looked bored and was turning a leaf over in his hands, while Kazumi was bouncing on her toes excitedly.

Today was our first training lesson, and I was supposed to teach them _proper_ fighting. I say "proper" because they could still fight very well despite not having formal training, but they still needed to polish their moves. Their souls were also exceptionally strong, but that would be of no help right now, because of one small problem:

Kazumi and Akihiko's souls were completely, absolutely, without a shred of doubt, incompatible. By looking at his soul, I could see that he was brave, straight-forward, a little possessive, flexible, and proud. Kazumi, on the other hand, was care-free, slightly cowardly, kind to a fault, obstinate, and possibly the calmest person on earth. It was a miracle that they were related, much less _siblings_.

"Ahem," I coughed to get their attention. They both looked up eagerly. "Well, I guess we should get started."

Kazumi nodded her head fiercely. "I can't wait! I'm gonna show Mommy all the new moves I've learned with Nee-san; she'll be so proud!"

I winced inwardly. While I was mentally debating about telling her the cold, hard truth, Akihiko spoke up.

"Look, Masuyo, we both know that my soul is incompatible with my sister's, and that's okay. We'll just have to find another meister!"

"And who would that be?" We both turned towards Kazumi, who was now standing up. She looked displeased, which was the closest she could get to furious, and her lower lip was stuck out in a pout.

Akihiko rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah . . . well . . . I guess Masuyo could be my partner!"

A long, stunned silence stretched out. Then the silence quickly turned into awkwardness.

The weapon shifted uncomfortably. "Well, it makes sense, doesn't it? I don't want to be anyone else's partner, and Kazumi can't be my partner, so it's only sensible for Masuyo to be my Technician. Besides," he continued, drawing himself up proudly, "since I'm the _best_ weapon in the whole village, and Masuyo is the best Technician, together we would be unstoppable!" His eyes gleamed, and his chest was stuck out arrogantly.

Kazumi then proceeded to roll over his pride with a Mack truck and stomp on it for good measure. "Are you sure? I think Masuyo might be a bit out of your league, seeing as she is supposed to be _teaching_ you, and what about Mother? If I remember correctly, all the neighbors call her the best weapon. Also, Father said that you aren't ready for Soul Sympathy, and that if you tried now you would either end up a paraplegic or spontaneously combust!" she chirped cheerfully.

I would have laughed at Akihiko's mortified face, except that I valued my life. "Well, anyways," I choked out, covering my grim with a hand, "I think we should at least try. Who knows? Maybe Akihiko and I could be really good partners!"

I stepped towards him, and held out my hand. "Ready?"

He nodded and then started to glow. His body flashed with a brilliant blue light, and began to take on a long, slender form. A millisecond later, a naginata with a silver-purple zig-zag pattern on the blade was spinning through the air; my fist curled around the hand and I spun it around before coming to a stop.

We were all silenced into awe. Holding Akihiko felt totally natural; our souls were almost perfectly synched. But why was guilt tearing at my heart? Why did I feel like I was betraying someone? Suddenly, I felt like breaking down and sobbing until I collapsed of exhaustion and dehydration.

"KYAA!" Kazumi's shriek snapped me out of my melancholy thoughts. "Masuyo, you're amazing! Both you're souls visibly expanded; I think I'm going to be blown over from the sheer power! You really are the best Technician in the world!"

Akihiko suddenly turned back into a human. "What about me?!" he whined. "I deserve some credit, too!"

"Oh yeah, you're fantastic, too! But Masuyo is still way better!"

While they argued, I went back to pondering my feelings. Was there another Weapon I had left behind? Was that why I felt this guilt? How long ago had we been separated? The question that had been tormenting me for a week came back again: why couldn't I remember anything?!

"Masuyo!" Akihiko called out to me. "Let's be partners, ok?" He offered his hand to me.

I stared at his outstretched hand. Some faint memory tickled at the back of my mind; this felt so achingly familiar! If I did have a Weapon somewhere else on this earth, he would have to find me, and hopefully understand that just because I have a new partner, doesn't mean I have moved on without him.

"Yeah," I gripped his hand. "I'll be your Technician!"

_For now,_ I thought.

**Soul's POV**

I collapsed on the couch in my apartment, exhausted. Kidd, Blackstar, the Thompson sisters, Tsubaki, and I had just come back from searching Nevada _and_ Utah for Maka. Tsubaki had left to find Kim and ask whether she wanted to join us on our next hunt.

"Damn! I can't believe we couldn't find her!" Blackstar shouted in exasperation.

Kidd sighed. "Well, it's not likely that the witches' headquarters would be next-door to us, would it? We'll just have to broaden our search. Shall we try again in two weeks?"

Suddenly the door was thrown open, and furious Kim barged in, with Tsubaki at her heels.

"You guys must be really stupid, aren't you?!" Kim snarled. "The witches might have promised not to hurt Death City or anyone in it, but they never said anything about students _outside_ of Death City! And you all should have waited for me! If anyone knows anything about witches, it's the chick who spies on 'em! And did you ever _think_," she spat, "did it ever occur to you that they might use _magic_ to conceal themselves?!"

A stony silence followed her rant.

Kim continued. "Of course you didn't; because you were all too obsessed with finding her to use those blocks on your necks that you call 'heads!' You could have _died!_" Her chest heaved, and she rubbed her eyes.

I spoke up. "We're sorry, Kim. You're right; we weren't thinking. I just- no, _we_- all want to find Maka. Next time, we'll remember to ask you first before we look for her."

"Damn right you will!" she sobbed. "I- I was so scared that the witches had gotten the rest of my friends!" A keening, animal noise tore itself from her lips.

Lizzy and Patty pulled Kim, Jacqueline, and Tsubaki into a group hug. For once Blackstar and Kidd had nothing to argue about. The loss of our leader had made us closer.

I stared out the window and gazed at Death City stretched out below me. The night sky seemed to be bulging with stars, brighter than the city lights. For the first time, I realized how big the world was, and the chances of finding my Meister seemed slimmer than ever.

"Where are you, Maka?" I whispered into the darkness.

**Waa! Spartoi is so sad! Will Soul ever find Maka? Will Maka regain her memories? Read on to find out! Thank you! **


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